Arnkel's page

This is very exciting news, and we're thrilled to finally get to share it with you! We plan to monitor this thread throughout the day and the coming weeks, so let us know what you think!

Sorry for the wall of text. I realize my voice doesn't count for much, but I do play MMOs, and this is a game I'd like to see do well, since I do happen to be in the market for a new MMO. As such, I'd like to offer a list of things I'd like to see:

First, take as long as you need to get the game done right. Please don't rush it out the door before its ready because people are getting antsy to see a return. Seriously, if you do it well, I know I'm not the only person who would be willing to pay to play Pathfinder Online. DDO and City of Heroes didn't fail in the pay-to-play arena because WoW is a giant, they failed because they're not fun enough to have to pay for(and look bad to boot).
Second, you guys have given Pathfinder a distinctive somewhat cartoony art style. For the love of all that is holy, play up to that while still keeping the graphics requirements low. You don't need pretty and realistic. You're not getting your bread and butter on this from the guys with the High End gaming machines. To justify spending up to $15 a month on a game, it has to look good AND play well. Realistic is a resource hog. Better to be cartoony.
Third, don't neglect your solo players. Let's face it. A lot of the people who will make up the player base are anti-social. If you have to group to play, you're losing players. Besides, if you have to group, that means you have to schedule with others, which means we can't play as much, and if I can't play my favorite character at 3 am on a Tuesday morning when I suddenly get the urge because there's nothing one can do solo, I don't see much reason to bother paying to play. This also means that you need to limit the amount of instancing(quests are far more fun, even if they are all "Go to point A, Pick up the Doohicky B, and kill Mob C" or "Kill 80 Mobs"). I don't mind sitting around waiting on respawns if it means I don't have to run "Lair of BBEG" a dozen times just to level. Also, please resist the urge to link every last quest in a zone. The cool part about Old WoW was that you could skip quests. Give us that option.
Fourth, I realize you're going to be pressured to do so b/c of the PvP community's obsession with balance, but keep the classes distinct and separate. Make sure the classes do not all play exactly the same way(and don't all have the same abilities). This ensures that the PvE players will keep coming back, if only to try out the various classes as alts. Also, don't nerf PvE for PvP, just make it function differently.
As a personal preference, please keep the wide open spaces to a minimum. Deserts and rolling plains rarely look good on most MMOs and as someone who learned to play MMOs on PvP servers, they don't give very many options for hiding and escaping.

My first character(circa 1990) was a River Spirit Folk Bushi, and I don't recall ever giving the character a name. At the time I only owned the DMG, and the Oriental Adventures book.

The party I DM most often is in a futuristic fantasy setting(we switch back and forth between 3.5e and Alternity depending on our mood and what the players want to do).

- Fox Hengeyokai Samurai 20, Kensai 10/Fox Hengeyokai Combat Spec
- Human Rogue 20, Shadow Ninja 10, Assassin 1/Human Free Agent

There is no real problem with not having magic users or healers as the characters tend more towards espionage and quick kills rather than long fights. The average combat with these characters is about 2 rounds(including the suprise round).

Not in any particular order:

1) Giants: I've loved these guys ever since I read Giantcraft. The Hunter's Blades Trilogy just made me love 'em more(and I usually can't stand Drizz't or the Forgotten Realms)
2) Dire Creatures: I'm not to fond of how they were handled in 3e, but the "Giant Creatures" from 2nd edition have always fascinated me.
3) Owlbear: What can you say about the most perfect pet that nature never intended?
4) Gith: The Dark Sun gith, not the whiny ex-slaves. Does anyone know if they've been updated?
5) Ankheg: Again, the 2nd ed version. I don't know why, but I always did happen to have a soft spot for these guys.

Yes, I use the eberron material, but as with all the material in Dungeon I have to heavily modify it as it seems that your typical D&D wizard is farting magic(which doesn't really fit in with my very low magic game).

I updated the old "Hunt for a Hierophant" adventure myself(added a few quirks, and expanded on the Bullywugs), but would always be interested in seeing what they could come up with. If they(the editor or whoever) are interested I can try to send a word version of my notes. I still think that that particular issue was the best ever published, though many recent ones have often come very darn close to taking that number 1 position. :)

yeah, neat idea. They could even have 1 artist each month or something.

O! O! Bring back Birthright!!!!! Upon saying that, you do kinda have to go with the content heavy option(since everything seems to be so well meshed together) . . . . Maybe even bundle it with a full up to date map of the setting. ok, I've done enough ranting now.

we usually start at around 10 am the morning of the gaming day, and we go until someone has to be somewhere(which could be a few days away), until we can't find a place to move the game because we've been kicked out of everywhere else, or until everyone generally decides that enough is enough and that some of us need sleep. Players come and go throughout the session, and DMs take turns. It helps that every member of my gaming group each has an area of their house or apartment that is set aside for gaming only(with a fully stocked fridge and cabinet full of sodas and Junk food within reaching distance).

I could be wrong, but I think the Witch Hunter was a Class from a very early edition of Dragon Magazine actually. I think it was in the same issue with the Witch NPC Class and Gygax's article on pentacles(protective/summoning circles I believe).